This Day in History

May 6

1542
Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time.
1857
The British East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and is considered to be the First Martyr in the War of Indian Independence.
1916
21 Lebanese nationalists executed in the Martyrs' Square, Beirut by Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman wāli.
1994
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiate at the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
2001
During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.